Vanessa has decades of experience helping founders create and scale technology companies. Throughout her career she has sat at the intersection of ideas and their development in a variety of roles spanning media, politics, technology, business, academia and the law.

Vanessa is a co-founder of Invoke Capital which forms, funds and develops fundamental technologies, often disrupting established methodologies and developing multi-billion pound businesses in the process. Invoke Capital created Darktrace, a leading AI cybersecurity company and was instrumental in getting the company up and running from inception, as well as helping it to scale rapidly prior to taking it public on the LSE in 2022.

Invoke capital also formed Luminance, an AI platform that is changing the way lawyers work with documents and contracts. Invoke was an early investor in the Nasdaq-listed Sophia Genetics, which is transforming personalised medicine and cancer treatment.

After graduating from Durham University with a First in modern languages, Vanessa obtained a Masters in journalism in Madrid, where she worked in the international media sector including TV, print and digital before transitioning to technology-based businesses. Her areas of expertise are in the practical application and policy implications of Artificial Intelligence and cyber security. Vanessa’s board experience includes both public and private companies, as well as charities. Beyond work, she enjoys thinking about the interplay of arts and science, broadening access to the Arts and music education.